Mental health patients are being assaulted by medical staff at hospitals in Bristol, an FOI has revealed

Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show 28 patients were assaulted by staff at hospitals run by the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust in 2016/17 (pictured: stock image of patient on stretcher)

Mental health patients have been assaulted by staff at hospitals across the region's on more than 90 occasions since 2012, new figures reveal.

Shocking statistics released by the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust (AWP Trust) show there have been 94 reported assaults by staff on patients over the past five years.

Obtained through a Freedom of Information (FoI) Act request, the figures show 28 reports of assault were made by patients against staff in 2016/17 – the highest total for each of the five years.

The figures also revealed the number of reported patient assaults on staff had nearly doubled during the same timeframe – rising from 401 in 2012/13 to 928 last year.

Callington Road Hospital in Brislington is run by the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

A Trust spokesperson said: “The majority of service users who are mentally unwell are not violent, but incidents of violence can occur when service users are acutely unwell.

“Our staff are trained and skilled at managing challenging situations and maintaining the safety of service users and staff is paramount.

“We encourage staff to report all incidents including those where there has been no injury. Staff are now reporting more of the less serious incidents but there has been no increase in incidents where staff have been injured.”

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The figures, requested by a member of the public, had been broken down into four categories: patient on staff; patient on patient; staff on patient; staff on staff and other.

According to the FoI, there had been more than 2,600 reported assaults by patients on other since 2012.

“Where there has been an incident of staff on patient or staff on staff assault, we investigate through safeguarding or disciplinary processes and deal with them as appropriate,” the spokesperson added.

Since 2012/13, there have been more than 2,600 reported assaults between AWP Trust patients

“We make no distinction in how seriously we take any incident of assault. When staff have been assaulted, we support our staff to pursue any such incidents through the criminal justice system.”

The AWP Trust provides specialist mental health services across the region, with hospitals in Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire.

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This week, it was revealed a psychiatric ward at Callington Road Hospital in Brislington - which temporarily closed in July - was investigated by police for locking a patient in a room.

In November last year, meanwhile, the same hospital faced criticism after a jury in the inquest of a former patient who decided to take his own life – less than a day after being admitted – said staff had failed to identify potential risks.

In September, two months before the inquest, inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) gave AWP Trust a ‘requires improvement’ rating, citing problems at Callington Road Hospital.